Dallas  − 11 January, 2007

You can put an ice skating rink in the middle of a mall. Likewise, you can have two Abercrombies and no one seems to mind (I minded. One is enough, thanks). And until I visited the Galleria in Dallas, I had no idea you could buy a Rolex at the mall. I'm sorry, I'm from a small town.

There are "guest menus" that hide prices so that your visitors aren't thrown into cardiac arrest by the high cost when you take them out to eat. Too bad I wasn't given one. Turns out, guilt doesn't sit well on my appetite. Every time I took a bite it felt like I was swallowing a dollar.

Wearing a University of Kentucky hat will get you stares as you walk through the grocery store at four in the morning to buy cake (or maybe it's because we were buying cake at four in the morning). Also, the thing makes for a conversation piece when you're sitting next to uninteresting strangers on a bus. I told a woman that I went to college, and she asked me if I went to UK. I thought, but luckily didn't say, You know, there are other schools in Kentucky. Then I realized she was referencing my hat. I hope the awkward smile masked my sheepishness.  

These were the main things I learned when I hopped a Greyhound to Dallas, Texas to stay with my friend Julie for a couple days. Also, when stopping in Arkansas to buy batteries, I learned that the word "quaint" becomes an insult when you say it with a grimace.

I can't wait to go back.